Influence of Occupational Stress, Resilience, and Job Satisfaction on Psychological Well-Being of Policewomen

Police officers are charged with a unique task of serving and protecting the public. It is pertinent for police personnel to be physically and psychologically healthy to perform their duties effectively. However, their health and wellbeing is threatened by many factors. Hence, to understand the psychosocial factors influencing the psychological well-being of police personnel, the present study attempted to investigate the influence of occupational stress, resilience, and job satisfaction on the psychological well-being of policewomen in Chennai City. The study also examined the interrelationship among select psychosocial variables. The study adopted correlational research design using survey method. The sample comprised of 237 policewomen constables working in Armed Reserve police unit whose age ranged from 23-41 years, and job experience ranged from 3 to 14 years. The tools used for the study were Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI) by Karunanidhi and Chitra (2010), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) by Connor and Davidson (2003, overall job satisfaction scale by Brayfield and Rothe (1951), and Psychological General Well-being Index (PGWBI) by Dupuy (1984). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The correlation analysis among all psychosocial variables revealed that occupational stress was negatively and significantly related to resilience, job satisfaction and psychological well-being. Further, resilience was positively and significantly related to job satisfaction and psychological well-being of policewomen. Moreover, the relationship between job satisfaction and psychological well-being ofpoticewomen was found to be positive and significant. Multiple regression analysis revealed that out of eight variables chosen, four variables namely resilience, women related stress, hazards of occupation, and job satisfaction accounted for 50% of variance in the psychological well-being policewomen. Moreover, findings indicate the importance of being resilient to achieve higher psychological well-being, which has immense implications for training. The implication of the findings and future research suggestions are discussed.